Snapchat vs. Instagram vs. Facebook Stories – which one to choose?

These days the social networks Facebook and Snapchat are at a classic "Silicon Valley" battle - so called "battle over Stories". How did it start and which one to choose?

Snap Inc. introduced the Stories feature in October 2013. The feature brought the users the ability to upload an unlimited number of photos or videos, visible only for 24 hours. Soon after, the company's general director - Evan Spiegel – has refused the offer of Facebook CEO – Mark Zuckerberg, to buy Snap Inc. for 3 billion USD. This step is generally considered a beginning of the companies' battle.

In August 2016 Instagram (owned by Facebook) launched its own version of the feature = "Stories", that was actually identical to the Snapchat feature. The improvement was, however, constant. In November 2016 Instagram added a live stream feature. In April 2017 it declared that it has surpassed Snapchat's number of everyday active users.

Source: wearehi5.com.

Facebook itself joined the Stories with its Messenger and WhatsApp. Some users don't consider the differences between them, others strictly stick-up to their favourite social network...but there are those, who want to know which of these platform is mostly worth their time.

Why use Stories for company/product/brand promotion?

"Stories" are a fine and creative means of reaching your existing and potential customers. They create the feeling of trust and fellowship. If you show "private" videos from your internal company environment or show interesting photos, you'll build a solid relationship with the users and increase their loyalty.

What strategy should you use when using Stories for business?

In case you're wondering how to use Stories for your benefit and how to use them effectively, ask yourself the following questions:

1. What platform is the best for you?

What is your audience like? What message would you like to share? An average Snapchat user is age 18-24 (mostly female) and likes an informal, funny and creative content. An average Instagram user is only slightly older – age 18 to 29 and expects visually attractive content. Facebook has even older users (in average), however the Stories feature is yet on a lower level in terms of usage.

Source: snapchatguide.blogspot.com.

2. What will be your content sharing style?

If you decide to use Stories for promotion, make sure, that the content you share is consistent with the overall context of your posts on social networks. Do not try to build a new, radically different content, by which you'd want to attract another audience.

3. Are you willing to invest into advertising?

You can have a profile with many followers (or fans) and thus not feel the need to invest to the advertising, however for some companies it's still the only way how to effectively reach their target audience.